The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, led staff of the Commission to the ongoing 2026 edition of the ID4Africa Conference and Annual General Meeting with the theme, “Digital Identity: From DPI to Digital Public Ecosystems,” currently taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Dr Olatunji represented Nigeria as a panellist in a session titled, “Enabling Policies for Cross-Border Interoperability.” He stated that without compatible infrastructure and enforceable laws, Africa’s digital potential will remain constrained by fragmentation among authorities. He noted that data is a critical infrastructure for the African Continental Free Trade Area, and that no country can achieve data excellence in isolation.
Dr Olatunji stressed that achieving interoperability is a shared responsibility requiring a balance between national sovereignty and regional efficiency. He urged African countries to align legal, technical, and institutional frameworks to enable seamless cross-border data flows, outlining three pillars for progress: harmonised data protection laws, independent Data Protection Authorities, and shared technical standards.
The Nigerian delegation to the event includes the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engineer Abisoye Coker-Odusote, who is also Nigeria’s Ambassador to ID4Africa; the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone (GBB), Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju; as well as officers from the Office of the National Security Adviser, National Population Commission, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, among others.
